Katie Katkich is the Library Media Specialist at the Western Beaver Junior-Senior High School. She works with students and staff in grades 6-12 and works collaboratively with a variety of teachers across various curriculums to implement and weave the library media center’s resources into daily instruction.
Katkich has created a learning space where communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking can occur. Within her learning hub, there is flexible seating, 3D printing and vinyl cutting tools, greenscreen technology, video filming and editing tools, and podcasting technology. With her use of iPads, Chromebooks, and laptops, students are encouraged to retrieve and share information in a variety of engaging and innovative ways.
She currently teaches two junior high rotations: Media Literacy and Research and a STEAM-based class titled Innovate and Design. She is also the sponsor of the district’s Communication and Technology Club, where members help to maintain the status quo on appropriate tech usage and create content through various multimedia outlets, such as YouTube, blogs, and podcasts, in order to further school connections and community outreach by following the precepts of creating, communicating, and collaborating. Katkich is dedicated to providing learning opportunities for her students that are relevant to the skills needed to succeed in an ever-evolving world. Her drive to provide learning opportunities for her students that implement rigor, challenge, and engagement not only serves as a catalyst to her students’ growth as learners, but also allows her students to develop the skills needed to be successful in a post-secondary setting. Katkich believes that environment and circumstance do not determine a student’s capability or successes in life. This mantra is what drives her teaching, and more importantly, the relationships she builds as an educator; she encourages both students and peers around her to tap into their most cultivated and curated self.
Katkich received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary English Education in 2010 from Slippery Rock University; a Masters of Science Degree in Secondary Special Education in 2015 from Slippery Rock University; and holds additional teaching certifications in Communications and Library Science. Katkich was also nominated as a Golden Apple Award Nominee by the Prevention Network in 2015. In addition to her duties as the district’s Library Media Specialist, Katkich serves as a member of the Beaver County Association of School Librarians, is a Common Sense Media Educator, and a certified Level I Google Educator.